Took some snaps of the new Prowler 13 at the boat show today...thought they may be of interest. Hope i covered the interesting points. Advertised on sale at £450.



A sharper nose than i thought. It should cut through the water more efficiently than a scrambler (good). The middle of the hull is pretty flat, and as you'll see from the other pics the rear is quite sharp. This may provide more efficiency through water and more directional stability than a scrambler. The cons may be that it will turn into currents more and the hull design may not lend itself to stable surfing as much as a scrambler does. But until someone tests it thats my pure conjecture.





The front hatch...more cumbersome than i thought it would be to open and close...not something i would consider too easy on the water...perhaps theres a knack . Big storage underneath though





The rear...flat bottomed recess looks like it could take a beer crate nicely...you can just make out the blank cirular areas for the rod holders...my preference would that they be in front for trolling, and possibly included in the price. I assume the channel is for an anchor or mooring line?...the con of that is that the carrying handle is forward of it, which may make it more awkward to walk with or put on a car than if they were at the end.



The working area. The new seat felt comfortable, and the hatch between your legs is very handy. Width wise it felt similar to my scrambler, the lower sides probably helping with the feeling, although not to the point where you felt exposed.
Extra handles look useful as well.

What i would like to change:

1) sacrifice the front cup holder for a rod holder for trolling...and who is going to have 2 cups anyway on a single canoe?

2) the seat clips...still the same old diecast clips...simple stainless clips would be nicer and better in salt water.

3) rod holders...should be on it as standard i think for the money

4) a simpler way of opening the hatch. A hatch on its own is fine, but having a tight neoprene skin underneath could be fiddly at sea. Perhaps its for dry storage only?

Overall impressions? Well, generally the boat feels like a more refined and purposeful craft than the scrambler. I dont know if the plastic is thinner in section, but it felt more refined than my scramblers agricultural feel. It also "felt" lighter to move around.
I dont know what prices the scramblers are these days so i cant say how well it stacks up against a loaded one price wise.
What i think you may lose in flexability (surfing and mucking around in it generally) i think you may gain in terms of fishing ease and performance...if your going out on lochs, inlets and calm seas fishing, then this is for you, the possibility of it being more efficient through the water making up for the possible loss of a fun canoe in white water.

[ 15. September 2004, 08:08 PM: Message edited by: gonefishing ]

Guests - this sponsored link will vanish when you log-in. Click here to register for free.

What's that rear slot for? A tailfin?

anchor me thinks...(guess)

Hi GF,

Excellent pics and write up.
Haveing looked at the pics, I think the channel at the stern, may be to rig a rudder system, the bits either side being where the lines would come through??
That seat looks realy naff, no pocket either.
the clips look to be rubbing the hull too??
The front hatch, neoprene gusset,good in theory I suppose,but like you say, a bit fiddley, xcold hands, choppy sea, yeah thatll work.
The cockpit looks nice and roomy, personaly, I would site a rod holder in that little square box,compass in the front cup holder somehow.
Tankwell does look big, but set back a bit from the seat, be a reach to get at things, the smaller part behind the seat, ideal for anchor n bits.
Ummm, no, Im sticking with my Scrambler, Im satisfied with the set up, and feel very comfortable with her.

Yakity.

Nice shots GF,

Going to take a look for my self on Saturday, the hatch does look like a fiddle but may ease with use, a lot more drainage around it as well which is good. Like the area between the cup holders for a lure box, lots of flat areas for bolting on accessories, two cup holders, maybe one if for champagne it looks a little larger and would fit a half bottle nicely.

Want to see underneath to see if there is any secondary stability built it.

Like YY says the seat does look a little awkward with all those straps and why no pocket, where will I put my corkscrew?

Got to say though that when my Caper is up for renewal one of those babies is coming home with me, hope they do it in Sunrise.

SM

:cool:

Nice one GF!!!

thanks for the mail Starvin tipping me off about this posting!

She looks great...the 'slot' in the back by the way is to do with the optional rudder system...frankly from reviews of the bigger prowler, it won't need it...despit the length and side profile it turns very easily apparently.

Hatch does look like hard work...although they do ease up once that new rubbery texture has become a fish slimed, polished, sea salty sort of surface!...my eight inchers on the M2 used to be a pain in the arse but now they pop on and off sweetly, but still keep a good seal.

Thanks again GF and wish I could have been there!

Art

re : underneath

if your familiar with the scrambler then this will look more like a traditional canoe in comparison...if i remember correctly the underside is smooth and rounded in section, unlike a scrabmler that has hard edges and rails which may give it more resistance to rolling or more support through a chop. But don't get me wrong, it looks like a capable boat, just probably as not so stupidly capable as a scrambler.( a pure guess)

we should get a good contact at the manufacturers so we can maybe get some wet tests in on the new site.

Hi GF,

Been looking at that hatch arrangement, is the inner neoprene gusset attached to the lid ??
Could always detach it,and put it on seperately,
would make life easier maybe ??
A guess on my part to, the hull,would be tippy, but offer good secondary stability, given your discription of it.
Proberbly has a good rocker too, this will be a plus on manouvering, but have my doubts about performance in wind and chop, i.e. keeping it straight, just my oppinion.
She looks like a combination of the Drifter, Caper and Scrambler ??

Yakity.

the neoprene was seperate...

dont think it would be a problem keeping it straight, the front and rear would act like a rudder, but i suspect it would roll a little more...dunno...

damn we need a wet test

Gonefishing, had a go at fitting the hatch, took 2 of us, it's a bitch, doesn't look like it will loosen up with wear either, otherwise she looks mighty fine.

On the seat front they don't do a version with the bag and they need all the straps to give the seat some rigidity as it is made from a thinner material than the old version, mind you it is free with the yak.